Ron Jackson and the lightning thief
by ultimate emperor
Summary: Ron Weasley is reborn in the PJO world as Ron Jackson son of Poseidon and takes the world by storm wiht a shadow guiding him down his path. will be a Ron X harem
1. Welcome to camp half-blood

December 14th in New York City was a day that would be described as cold and jolly. People were about enjoying their holidays while battling the weathers everyone was busy doing Christmas shopping and, as such no one paid attention to one Sally Jackson.

Said woman was pregnant with the child of a god, although no one could say that what with her being only one month pregnant. Sally Jackson carried out her business hoping to keep the attention of unsavoury characters away from her. The father of her child had warned her to keep a low profile as even bearing the child of a big three could bring the attention of monsters to her.

Sally looked around to see if anyone suspicious was around her, everyone seemed normal and were involved in their own life. She then noticed the man. He was tall and thin wearing medieval robes; with unruly black hair and a clean boyish face. He was wearing round thin rimmed glasses and had emerald green eyes that seem to bore into her.

Sally turned around and slowly walked to the end of the street. After turning around, she ran as fast as she could and ducked into an alley. As she ran she looked behind her to see if the man was following her to find an empty alley.

Feeling relieved, she turned around to see a humanoid females with twin serpent trunks instead of legs; a Scythian dracanae. _"Oh gods, what a fool have I been? Bringing myself and my child to our doom"_

"You bear a child of the godssssss" the dragon woman hissed pointing at Sally who backed away slowly "please don't hurt us" Sally pleaded but her cries fell to deaf ears Sally crouched as the dracanae prepared to pounce on her, but just then, a beam of light hit the dracanae and she exploded into dust.

Sally turned around to see where the light had come from and saw the robed man she was running away from standing there. "Hi!" the man said moody and awkwardly like an emo teenager would on a first date "can we talk?"

Sally nodded hesitantly and the man began, focusing on anything around him except her "Look; firstly I'm not a monster. I'm a wizard, a magician from another dimension and one of the last of my kind... well actually, now I am _the _last of my kind"

He turned to the pregnant woman to see her mildly horrified expression "too much?" he asked to which Sally nodded but the man brushed it off "anyways I'm here to give you an offer that will benefit both of us"

"What offer?" Sally asked and the man smiled and continued "I will protect you and your child until he is eleven, and then I will protect him till he reaches camp half blood, I will only protect him till he is eleven because after he reaches the camp, he will need to learn how to defend himself"

Sally sighed unhappily accepting the fact that her child will have to go to the camp eventually "what do you want in return?" she asked the spectacled man who turned serious and answered "I will fuse the foetus inside of you with the soul of my friend"

"What? Why?" Sally demanded backing away from the man. Said man answered "when me and a few of my kind came to this dimension, we realised we had to fight the various monsters no one else could see and evil following us from our dimension. All of my kind has died, most because of natural causes, though a few have died in battle. The souls of my kind either disappeared into the ether or were reborn as regular humans here. As my friend was dying he told me that in his new life, he wanted to make a difference, he wanted to be a hero. I'm only trying to fulfil my friend's wishes"

Sally felt slightly sympathetic towards the man after hearing his tragic story "he must have been a good friend" the man nodded smiling slightly "he was my first friend... and my last friend"

"How will this affect my son?" Sally asked the man who looked thoughtful "your son will have reddish hair and will have a short temper, he will also be quite good at chess though he may be a bit of a trouble maker... actually he'll be a hell of a trouble maker, he'll also have..." Sally cut of the man "all that is fine, what I want to know is how will it affect his godly side?"

"It will amplify his godly abilities and make him more powerful; they may also give him a few new abilities and allow him to learn skills not inherited from Poseidon." Sally didn't seem to sure but the man seemed to be genuine about his deal "very well" Sally agreed after mulling over it for a few minutes while the man stared around, bored.

The man smiled and pulled out a bottle from his robes, it held a glowing bluish/whitish orb that seemed to be made of pure light, and which Sally was sure, was the soul. The man silently opened the bottle and let the soul hover above his hand; he then slowly pushed the soul against her belly till the soul entered her.

"I don't feel any different" Sally said making the man chuckle "you won't, but it's done, also I'll be transferring all of my money to your account" he raised his hand as Sally was about to protest "I know you won't need it but it's actually for my friend, when he grew up, he was poor. I want him to be able to get whatever he wants this time around, also never tell him anything about me or the gods." the man walked to the edge of the alley before turning around

"What now? Sally demanded angrily "Ronald Weasley Jackson" the man said "that will be his name" "Wait!" Sally called as the man was about to turn around "what is your name?"

The man smirked "Potter, Harry Potter" saying this, the man disappeared into thin air, leaving Sally Jackson staring

**XXXXXXX**

"Ron!" the redhead was called by his best friend "where did you sneak off to last night?" he asked nervously. Grover was Ron's best friend. He was a tall, scrawny kid, just an inch short of Ron's 5'5. He had curly brown hair and a slight wispy beard; he was also disabled with some sort of muscular disease on his legs and needed crutches to walk around.

"I was with Elizabeth Ellis, the class valedictorian, in her room" Ron winked at Grover who laughed "why is it that a slacker like you is attracted to the smartest of girls and they for some reason seem to like you right back"

"It's a gift man" Ron told him "and I love it" their conversation was interrupted by chunks of a PB and J sandwich thrown towards Grover Ron turned around to see a laughing Nancy Bobofit "that bitch" he hissed

"Don't do anything" Grover told him "Mrs. Dodds is just looking for a reason to kill you" but as Grover felt another bit of Nancy's lunch hit him, he knew it was in vain. Ron had always had a temper and ferocity to match.

When the school year had started and the two boys had met for the first time, Grover was being pushed around by some seventh graders, Ron had gotten into a fight with them and the two boys had gotten beaten up.

"Why do you insist on fighting?" Grover had demanded from him then "you could die like this" Ron had wiped the blood off his face and said "better to die with a roar than to live with a squeak" since then the two of them had been best friends.

Grover watched helplessly as Ron got up and, loudly, called Nancy things no twelve year old should know about, at the end of his triad a voice called out "honey"

And thus Ron was forced to spend the rest of the bus ride beside Mrs. Dodds the little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was fifty years old. She looked mean enough to ride a Harley right into your locker. Ron once told Grover that he didn't think she was human and Grover agreed to him with a serious look on his face.

When they reached the museum Mr. Brunner, their wheelchair bound history teacher led the tour. Mr. Brunner was Ron's favourite teacher but he pushed Ron too hard. Ron suffered from ADHD and dyslexia. It was a miracle that he was able to even pass any of his classes, but Mr. Brunner wanted him to excel at his class.

When they broke up for lunch Grover and Ron decided to sit in the courtyard in front of the fountain. Grover saw Ron give the city a wistful look and said "she'd be sad" referring to Sally Jackson, Grover always seemed to know what Ron was thinking about.

Suddenly Nancy Bobofit was standing in front of them "ooh, look at the two boyfriends being all romantic" she sneered, the next thing I knew was that she was thrashing around in the fountain. "Ron pushed me" she screamed

Mrs. Dodds materialized next to them with some of the kids were whispering:

"Did you see-"  
"-the water-"  
"-like it grabbed her-"

"Come with me honey" she told Ron who sighed as he followed her into the museum, into the Greek and Roman section, where they were alone with no one around.

"You've been giving us problems, honey" Mrs. Dodds said her arms crossed in front of her, Ron did the safe thing and said, "Yes, ma'am" She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?"

Ron briefly went over what Mrs. Dodds could have learnt. There was his illegal candy stash which he sold to other kids; there was his Tom Sawyer essay which he copied off the internet and his late night visit to Elizabeth Ellis the previous night.

"I'll try harder!" Ron tried again wondering what he had been caught for and how she would punish him, the look in her eyes was beyond mad, it was evil.

"We are not fools Jackson, confess and we will forgive you" Mrs. Dodds growled, but Ron got the feeling that she was talking about something else entirely.

"Ma'am I don't..."

"Your time is up" she hissed

Then the weirdest thing happened, her eyes began to glow, her fingers turned into talons and her jacket melted into two large leathery wings. Ron found it hard to decide which one was the _weirdest_ thing that happened.

Suddenly Mr. Brunner appeared reeling in his wheelchair "what ho Ron!" he threw him a ballpoint pen, which transformed mid air into a bronze sword. Ron didn't have time to think, wonder r marvel. Mrs. Dodds was flying towards him so Ron did the only thing that came to him, he swung the sword.

Mrs. Dodds turned to golden dust as the sword massed through her like she was made of water. Ron stared at the pile of dust as it slowly dispersed into the air, Ron then realised he was all alone and walked out of the museum.

"Ah Mr. Jackson" Mr. Brunner rode his chair in front of Ron "can I please have my pen back? And next time, do bring your own writing utensils" Ron handed back the sword-in-a-pen as he had named it, to Mr. Brunner and asked "what happened to Mrs. Dodds?"

"Mr. Jackson" Mr. Brunner looked confused "there is no Mrs. Dodds"

**XXXXXXX**

The rest of the school year was quite surreal for Ron. Everyone was convinced that Mrs. Kerr, a perky blonde teacher, had been their math teacher since Christmas, well everyone except Grover who Ron could tell knew Mrs. Dodds but for some reason pretended he didn't.

On the other hand, Ron was struggling through his classes, he was able to pass, but barely and he was never able to pay attention in classes for more than five seconds. Ron was prepared to fail all his exams before reconsidering and deciding to ask Mr. Brunner for help. That's when shit got weird.

Ron walked to the faculty's office and saw that the door to Mr. Brunner's office was slightly ajar; he then heard Grover's voice "Worried about Ron, sir?"

Ron froze and crept forward silently "... Alone this summer" Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the school! Now that we know for sure, and they know too."

"We would only make matters worse by rushing him" Mr. Brunner said "We need the boy to mature more"

"But he may not have time" Grover pointed out "The summer solstice deadline..." "...Will have to be resolved without him, Grover, let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can"

"Sir, he saw her..."Grover began but was cut off "His imagination" Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that"

"Sir, I...I can't fail in my duties again" Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean"

"You haven't failed, Grover" Mr. Brunner said kindly "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Ron alive until next fall-" Ron silently walked away, his mind reeling with confusion

Ron was able to survive his exams and he was sure he would pass in all of them, an achievement all in itself, and before he knew it, he and Grover were boarding the same greyhound to take them to Manhattan.

Ron hadn't felt right ever since he had eavesdropped on Grover and the professor, hearing their conversation game him the feeling that something was up. Shit got even weirder when their bus had broken down and they were stranded in the middle of nowhere where Ron saw three old ladies knitting a sock for Bigfoot and one of them cut a string of yarn for which Ron could hear the snap even across the motorway, after which Grover handed him the card to his summer address called Half-Blood hill, weirdest name Ron ever heard; and that included a huge Black Mastiff Dog named 'Snuffles'.

When they reached the bus terminal Grover went to use the bathroom as Ron exited the bus terminal and walked towards a BMW waiting by the roadside. "Hey Paul" Ron greeted Paul Blofis his stepfather as he threw his stepfather whom his mother had met in college.

"Hello to you too Ron" Paul laughed as Grover hurried out of the terminal and towards Ron "Paul, meet my friend Grover" he introduced and then turned to his friend "and this" he gestured to Paul "is my stepfather"

"Nice ride Mr. Blofis" Grover complemented the BMW 5 series "it's actually a gift from Sally" Paul told Grover as he climbed into the back seat.

Sally Jackson had inherited a fortune from a friend at the same time Ron had been born and had made investments in certain companies making her some sort of reclusive millionaire/novelist. She had also decided to purchase homes and cars throughout America. Right now they were heading towards a penthouse condo in upper west side.

Once reaching home Ron turned red as Grover looked at the other cars they had. For some reason, Ron felt embarrassed when people saw the stuff their family had, his mother told him it was his most adorable habit even with the 'unorthodoxly smart' (failing classes) and 'standing up for the weak' (violent behaviour).

They then went into the huge penthouse where Ron's mom was waiting by the dining table typing away on her laptop. Ron's mother could make him feel good just by walking into the room. Her eyes sparkled and changed colour in the light. Her smile was as warm as a quilt. She was also one of the few people capable of making Ron feel bad about his violence and bad marks unintentionally with how nice she was even after he was being hard.

"Ron!" she got up and hugged him as Ron turned red and muttered about embarrassing him in front of Grover whom he introduced to his mother. "Hello Grover" she greeted him, Ron felt some sort of hesitancy from his mother "have a Cookie" she held out a plate of blue cookies "score!" Ron grinned and helped himself with a fistful of cookies; getting reprimanded about being rude.

"Now Ron!" Sally turned back to her son "tell me everything about what happened at your school" Ron began telling his mother about all that had happened, leaving out the bad parts and exaggerating the good ones.

"You've grown so much" Sally ruffled Ron's hair making him go all red again. "Um Ron, Mrs. Jackson, I need to tell you guys something" Grover said looking serious and much more older than his twelve years.

"I know Grover" Ron's mother said confusing him "um what's going on?" Ron asked looking at Paul who looked equally confused; "Ron" Sally looked pained "your father was a Greek god"

There was a bit of silence as Sally and Grover stared at Ron who was looking at them and Paul for any hidden smiles or other giveaways "Not funny mom!" Ron laughed but his laughter died when he realised he was the only one laughing

"Sally what is going on?" Paul asked but it was Grover who answered "allow me to show you, that this isn't some joke" and then Grover proceeded to take off his pants to reveal a pair of cloven hooves.

"You're part donkey?" Ron asked in shock and was rewarded with the other three face palming.

**XXXXXXX**

"So... the Greek myths are real?"

"Yes, they are"

"And demigods are real?"

"Correct again"

"And I'm the child of a Greek god?"

"Three times the charm"

"And you'll be putting your pants back on?"

"No! Actually"

"Dude!" Ron complained to which Grover pulled up his pants and put on his fake feet "you're welcome" Grover told Ron who rolled his eyes.

"So who is my godly parent? How does Mr. Brunner fit into this? What exactly is this camp half-blood? Why do I have to go there? And why the hell are you eating a can?"

"There are too many questions and too little time" Grover bleated "We have to get to safety"

"Safety from what?" Ron demanded to which Grover answered "oh just the lord of the dead and a few of his bloodthirsty minions"

"Grover!"

"Sorry Mrs. Jackson, but we really need to leave, Ron's smell has amplified due to him knowing the truth and monsters will be coming here soon. I suggest you two leave as well"

"Wait a minute, why can't mom and Paul come with us?" Ron demanded to which Sally answered "mortals can't enter the camp, me and Paul will be in our villa in Miami Beach if you need us" the two adults quickly gathered their essential belongings as the two kids already had packed bags and the foursome travelled down to the garage.

"We'll be taking the Dodge" Ron informed his parents gesturing towards the metallic blue Dodge Viper GTS coupe; it was his favourite one out of all the ones his parents had. "You don't know how to drive" Paul pointed out making Ron smirk at him

"Kids at boarding schools tend to know things they shouldn't" Grover added as they loaded their bags into the Dodge and sat in and the adults did the same with the BMW.

"y'know" Grover said "you've given me a lot of trouble through the year with protecting you, with the teachers and everything" Ron shrugged "sorry man!" Grover grinned evilly and said "don't be"

Grover then opened the window and gestured for Paul to do the same "Mrs. Jackson" he called making Ron uneasy "yes Grover?" Sally asked leaning across her passenger seat. "Ron spent an entire night with a girl in her room during the school year"

Ron hit the gas and shot the car out of the garage but still heard a yell of "RONALD WEASLEY JACKSON"

"Not cool man" Ron complained as Grover laughed "not cool at all"

**XXXXXXX**

The two boys drove on towards Long Island as Grover explained everything to Ron, the gods, their offspring's, the monsters, the camp he explained all that he could. How the gods were real, demigods were their kids, everything!

As they neared their destination the weather seemed to get worse and the light seemed to be dying, Grover seemed to get more and more anxious and kept urging Ron to go faster, till all of a sudden their car was in the air and upside down.

"G-man!" Ron called out and was rewarded with a moaning "I hurt my leg...we're almost there" Grover groaned and pointed towards the nearest hill "you see that tree?" there was a flash of lightning and Ron was able to see a huge Christmas sized pine tree on the crest of the hill.

"That's the property line, you need to cross it to reach safety there's a big farmhouse there, go there and ask for help"

"Sure thing" Ron said and began dragging Grover out "leave me behind" Grover insisted "I don't take orders from you" Ron snapped back, he looked behind them to see, almost a hundred feet away, a huge hulking man, built like a wrestler and a helmet with horns on his head. Ron helped Grover as the two of them made their way to the big tree.

Ron glanced back and got his first good look at the monster. He was seven feet tall, his arms and legs were like something from the cover of Muscle Man magazine-bulging biceps and triceps and a bunch of other 'ceps, all stuffed like baseballs under vein-webbed skin. He wore no clothes except underwear which was a bright white Fruit of the Looms all of which would've looked funny, except that the top half of his body was covered in Coarse brown hair that started at about his belly button and got thicker as it reached his shoulders.

His neck was a mass of muscle and fur leading up to his enormous head, which had a snout as long as my arm, snotty nostrils with a gleaming brass ring, cruel black eyes, and horns-enormous black-and- white horns with points you just couldn't get from an electric sharpener.

"That's..." Ron began but was cut off by Grover "Pasiphae's son. I wish I'd known how badly they want to kill you"

"But that's the..." again Grover cut off Ron "don't say his name. Names have power" they continued to struggle up the slope but the tree was still too far away, a hundred yards at least.

The bull-man began sniffing the car "his sight and hearing are terrible" Grover explained before Ron could ask "he'll soon know we're not in the car" and sure enough the bull-man picked up and threw the car like a child throwing a tantrum as the car fell and exploded.

"Not the viper" Ron moaned and Grover gave him a look that said _get your priorities straight_. "When he sees us, he'll charge. Wait until the last second, then jump out of the way; directly sideways. He can't change directions very well once he's charging. Do you understand?"

"Yeah man" Ron answered. The bull man began charging uphill towards them. Grover's foot was hurt badly but he still put it down and separated from Ron. "Remember, jump sideways"

Bull-man charged, his horn aimed at Ron's chest. The fear in Ron made him want to run, but he held his ground till the last moment and then jumped sideways. The Bull-man bellowed in anger, on then saw that Grover had been knocked out, probably because he was too late to jump due to his wounded foot.

"Shit!" Ron swore as the Bull-man reared to charge again, but this time he held out his arms to prevent Ron from jumping away. Time seemed to slow down as Ron tensed the creature rushed forward and at the last second, Ron jumped forward and used the Bull's head as springboard and jumped up, changing direction in mid air, he landed on the back of the monster with his arms around his neck. How he did that, he had no idea.

The monster shook around like a rodeo bull, trying to throw Ron off his back but couldn't, Ron grit his teeth seeing the creature sniff in the direction of Grover. He grabbed a single horn and pulled at it with all his might.

The horn broke free throwing Ron off the creatures back, Ron landed with a thump dizzy and with blurry vision, he heard the monster roar and as the monster charged at him, Ron let instinct take over, he rolled to the side and just as the monster was upon him, Ron drove the horn into its chest. The Minotaur bellowed and pawed at his chest as he slowly crumbled to dust.

The monster was gone.

The rain had stopped. The storm still rumbled, but only in the distance. Ron smelled like livestock and his knees were shaking but he managed to haul Grover up and staggered down into the valley, toward the lights of the farm-house.

He was barely able to make it to the wooden porch when the door opened and a familiar face appeared followed by a beautiful blonde girl who was bent down to lock eyes with a crawling Ron

"He's the one" she said "he must be"

"Silence child! He's conscious. Bring him inside"

**XXXXXXX**

Ron had the weirdest dream

"_Are you really Harry Potter?" he asked a boy with black hair and green eyes_

"_My toad!" a round faced boy held up his pet_

"_The ceiling is jinxed to look like the sky" a girl with nutmeg brown, bushy hair said to him_

"_GRYFFINDOR!"_

The next thing Ron knew, he was awake and lying on a soft bed where the blonde girl from before was feeding him something that tasted like buttered popcorn. She saw that Ron's eyes were open and asked "what happened in the summer solstice?"

"What?" Ron croaked

She looked around; as if afraid someone would over-hear "What's going on? What was stolen? We've only got a few weeks!"

"No idea what you're talking about" Ron groaned before falling asleep again.

Ron had a vivid dream.

It was storming on the beach, and two beautiful animals, a white horse and a golden eagle, were trying to kill each other at the edge of the surf. The eagle swooped down and slashed the horse's muzzle with its huge talons. The horse reared up and kicked at the eagles wings. As they fought, the ground rumbled, and a monstrous voice chuckled somewhere beneath the earth, goading the animals to fight harder.

Ron ran toward them, knowing he had to stop them from killing each other, but he was running in slow motion. He knew he could never make it. He saw the eagle dive down, its beak aimed at the horse's wide eyes, and screamed, "NO!"

And the dream ended

Ron continued to fade in and out of consciousness for a time period he couldn't keep track of. When he finally woke up for good he realised he was alone. He was sitting in a deck chair on a huge porch, gazing across a meadow at green hills in the distance. The breeze smelled like strawberries. There was a blanket over his legs, a pillow behind his neck, but my mouth felt like a scorpion had been using it for a nest. His tongue was dry and nasty and every one of my teeth hurt.

Ron saw a tall drink next to him that looked like iced apple tea, he almost dropped it due to his weakness when a familiar voice said "careful"

"Grover" Ron grinned "glad to see you're alive" Grover gave a bleated laugh and placed a shoebox with the Minotaur horn on Ron's lap. "What happened?" Ron asked to which Grover answered "you saved my life man!"

Grover helped Ron finish the drink which coincidentally tasted like the cookies his mother baked. Grover hen led him around to the back of the farmhouse. The place was a valley filled with kids of all ages and satyrs, all wearing bright orange t-shirts.

Grover led him to a table where two people were seated and the blonde girl was leaning by the side.

The guy in front of Ron was average in size; he had curly black hair that seemed almost purple. He would've fitted right into some gambling den with his Hawaiian leopard print shirt, but Ron got the feeling he could've out gambled Stu Unger himself.

"That's Mr. D the camp director" he then gestured to the blonde girl "that's Annabeth, the oldest camper here, and you already know Chiron..."

"Mr. Brunner" Ron nodded towards his former Latin teacher

"Ron!" Mr. Brunner smiled "now we have four for pinochle" the wheelchair bound man offered a chair to Ron beside Mr. D who said "oh I suppose I have to say it. Welcome to camp half blood and all that. There, now don't expect me to be glad to see you" "um thanks" Ron said scooting a little away from the alcoholic.

"Annabeth?" Mr. Brunner called to the blond girl.

She came forward and Mr. Brunner introduced us. "This young lady nursed you back to health, Ron, Annabeth, my dear, why don't you go check on Ron's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now"

Annabeth said, "Sure, Chiron" she was of Ron's age and just a few inches shorter. She looked like a surfing Californian girl with her blonde hair and honey toned skin. Except her eyes ruined the image, they were a stormy gray and looked intimidating, like they were analysing how to take Ron down in a fight.

After she left Grover sat down with them to play pinochle and Mr. D eyed Ron suspiciously and asked "do you know how to play pinochle?"

"I'm afraid not" Ron answered casually

"I'm afraid not sir!" Mr. D emphasised

"No need to call me sir professor" the words were out of Ron's mouth before he knew it

Chiron and Grover stared at him as if he had grown two heads while Mr. D looked confused "professor?" he asked amusedly "that's a new one, professor D, I like the sound of that"

He waved his hand making a wine glass appear

"Mr. D" Chiron warned him "your restrictions"

Mr. D looked at the wine and feigned surprise "Dear me" He looked at the sky and yelled "Old habits! Sorry!"

There was more thunder as Mr. D waved his hand again, and the wineglass changed into a fresh can of Diet Coke. He sighed unhappily, popped the top of the soda, and went back to his card game.

Chiron winked at Ron "Mr. D offended his father a while back, took a fancy to a wood nymph who had been declared off-limits"

"A wood nymph" Ron repeated, still staring at the Diet Coke can like it was from outer space.

"Yes" Mr. D confessed "Father loves to punish me. The first time, Prohibition, ghastly! Absolutely horrid ten years! The second time-well, she really was pretty, and I couldn't stay away the second time, he sent me here, Half-Blood Hill. Summer camp for brats like you 'Be a better influence' he told me 'Work with youths rather than tearing them down' Ha Absolutely unfair"

Mr. D sounded about six years old, like a pouting little kid. "And ... your father is ..." Ron stammered

"Di immortales, Chiron" Mr. D said "I thought you taught this boy the basics. My father is Zeus, of course."

They played in silence as Ron realised Mr. D was Dionysus the god of wine and partying. He didn't look anything much, but Grover had told him that gods tended to look like humans until they were pissed when a fire seemed to light in their eyes. Soon enough Chiron won and Mr. D led Grover away from some evaluation of his performance.

"Will he be okay?" Ron asked Chiron worriedly to which Chiron nodded, though he looked a bit troubled. "Old Dionysus isn't really mad. He just hates his job. He's been ... Ah, grounded, I guess you would say, and he can't stand waiting another century before he's allowed to go back to Olympus."

"The one on top of the empire state building?" Ron asked to which Chiron nodded "what all did Grover tell you?" Ron shrugged "some stuff about how gods are real, move with the west western civilization is a collection of ideas, etc."

"Very well" Chiron said "saves me a lot of trouble" and then he rose from the chair with the torso of a man attached to the body of a white stallion. "You're a horse" Ron said with a surreal look on his face

"A centaur" Chiron corrected "you into astronomy?" Ron asked out of the blue confusing Chiron "I guess" the centaur answered "Ron spotted a Pegasus flying away" and pointed at it

"Would you do that one?" he asked Chiron who raised an eyebrow "firstly that's a male..." "I'm not judging" Ron interrupted "...secondly I'm not into horses"

"Their loss" Ron joked making Chiron chuckle when

something caught his eye, a shadow in the uppermost window of the attic gable. Something had moved the curtain, just for a second, and Ron got the feeling he was being watched. "What's up there?"

Chiron looked where Ron was pointing, and his smile faded. "Just the attic"

"Somebody lives there?" Ron asked

"No" he said with finality "Not a single living thing"  
"Come along, Ron" Chiron said, his light hearted tone now a little forced. "Lots to see"

Chiron showed Ron around the camp. The strawberry fields, the woods, the archery range, javelin range, stables, amphitheatre, arena, dining pavilions and finally he was shown the cabins. Twelve buildings that looked nothing alike and all facing a common area the size of a soccer field, dotted with Greek statues, fountains, flower beds, and a couple of basketball hoops (which were right up Ron's alley).

In the centre of the field was a huge stone-lined fire pit. Even though it was a warm afternoon, the hearth smouldered. A girl about nine years old was tending the flames, poking the coals with a stick. Ron decided to approach the girl "why are you tending the flames in a warm afternoon?"

The girl looked up at Ron and smiled "the hearth is the symbol of home, I am here to tend to the flames to give light to this home" the girl was of nine years old with red hair wearing a simple brown dress. "Who are you?" Ron asked backing away, he looked around to see that no one was there. The place was completely deserted.

"I am Hestia, goddess of hearth, home and family. I am the last Olympian" Ron blinked and without thinking said "I thought you gave your seat to Mr. D"

"I did" Hestia nodded "it was for the best" Ron took the information in "so... what else?" Ron didn't really know what to talk to a god about.

"Aren't you a fantastic conversationalist" Hestia said making Ron laugh, he knelt down to look her in the yes which were a smouldering brown and looking into them seriously, he asked "are you always this small?"

Hestia chuckled and in a flash of light, changed her form making Ron stand up. She now looked the same age as him with beautiful red hair that reached her waist and peachy skin with a golden hue to it.

"Is this form better?" Hestia jokingly asked Ron who simply said "wow! You're beautiful" she giggled and said "straight to the point, just like he said" Ron's eyes narrowed at this sentence

"Who said?" he asked the goddess who answered "a mutual friend. He also wanted me to give you this" suddenly a coat appeared in her hands which she gave to Ron. The coat was stiff, but seemed to be made of some sort of silvery cloth.

"It's nice" Ron said putting on the coat and buttoned it, it was an overcoat that stopped just above his knees. Ron looked at his arms to see that they weren't there "bloody hell!" Ron said as he looked down to see nothing

"Buttoning the coat makes you invisible" Hestia said making Ron reply sarcastically "I hadn't noticed"

Ron took of the coat and observed it "Ronald" Hestia said, instantly getting Ron's undivided attention. His full name always got his attention especially when used by people who shouldn't know it "I expect a lot of things from you" Hestia said giving him a kiss on the forehead "best of luck"

Ron blushed and looked down at the jacket to distract himself. He then noticed a symbol on the left chest, it was a triangle with a circle in it and a line in the middle "hey what does this symbol mean?" he asked looking up to see that Hestia had vanished.

"Ron" a voice called making the redhead turn around to see Annabeth "Chiron had to go to teach masters archery class, I'm supposed to show you to cabin eleven" Ron nodded and followed Annabeth to an old cabin that looked completely regular except for a caduceus over the doorway.

Inside Ron was introduced as an undetermined, whatever that meant made everybody groan except for a guy who was Ron's new councillor and Ron was sure; Annabeth's crush. Luke looked to be about nineteen, tall and muscular with sandy hair, orange t-shirt, leather sandals and a necklace with five different beads on them. The only unsettling thing about him was a thick white scar that ran from below his right eye to his jaw.

"Heya Luke" Ron grinned at him "nice to meet ya" Luke grinned right back at him "you seem like a right little ray of sunshine" Ron shrugged and asked "so I'll be staying here?"

"Yes!" Annabeth told him from behind "for how long?" Ron asked to which she answered until you get claimed Ron remembered what Grover had said to him "that might never happen, right?" there was a murmur following his statement followed by an air of defeat. "Ron, let me show you the volleyball court" Annabeth dragged Ron away.

"Look!" she turned to him "almost everybody in that cabin is waiting for some sign, from their godly parent, you can't just kill their hopes like that; it wound send them spiralling into depression" before Ron could say anything a new voice came up

"Well! A newbie"

Ron recognised the girl from cabin five. She was big and even a toddler could tell she was a fitness buff. Her brown hair was tied to a ponytail and she was followed by other girls, all wearing camo jackets.

"Clarisse" Annabeth sighed "why don't you go sharpen your spear or something"

"Sure thing princess" Clarisse sneered "so that I can run it through you Friday night"

Annabeth then swore in ancient Greek which Ron translated as "eat the crows" but he was sure it meant something else entirely. "You don't stand a chance"

Clarisse then set her eyes on Ron "who's the little runt?"

"Ron Jackson" Annabeth said "meet Clarisse, daughter of Ares" Ron blinked at the introduction "like the war god?

"That's right kid" Clarisse sneered "got a problem?"

"No" Ron said but his tone may have conveyed something different because Clarisse growled "we got an initiation ceremony for newbies Rob"

"Ron" Ron corrected her to which Clarisse replied "whatever. Come on I'll show you"

"Clarisse..." Annabeth tried to say something but was cut off with a "stay out of it wise girl"

Ron himself got ready for a fight but before he knew it, Clarisse had him by the scruff of his neck and was pulling him towards the bathrooms. Ron began kicking, kneeing, elbowing and punching. It took the combined strength of Clarisse and two others to hold Ron down.

Clarisse dragged Ron towards the chamber pots as Ron wondered why the gods couldn't afford better toilets. "Like he's big three material" Clarisse pushed Ron towards the toilet "the Minotaur probably died laughing"

Ron saw Annabeth watch from the side from between her fingers. Clarisse tried to push Ron's head down the toilet and Ron snapped.

He felt a pull in his gut as water rushed out of the toilet and hit Clarisse; making a clean arc over Ron's head. The water continued to shoot out like a hose pushing Clarisse down on her but. He sisters came forward to help her but immediately water started to blast out from everywhere. Every toilet, every showerhead, every washbasin; shot water towards the girls, spinning them around before finally floating them out of the bathroom.

Ron felt the tug in his gut lessen and the water died. Even Annabeth hadn't been spared, she was dripping wet, Ron then realised that he was completely dry, sitting in a circular dry spot on the ground in the completely we bathroom.

Ron shakily got back to his feet. Annabeth asked "how did you..."

"I have no idea" Ron answered flabbergasted

They went outside where Clarisse glared at Ron "you are dead new boy! Dead!"

Ron answered with a "go gargle with toilet water shithead" as Clarisse's cabin mates dragged her back; Annabeth was looking at Ron weirdly

"What?" Ron demanded defensively

"I'm thinking" she answered "I want you on my team for capture the flag"

**XXXXXXX**

The next few days were quite normal for Ron, ignoring the fact that he was being taught by satyrs, nymphs and a centaur of course.

Every morning he had to learn ancient Greek with Annabeth, then go through a bunch of outdoor activities which were bizarre and varied from catastrophic to good.

Archery: shot Chiron's tail

Foot racing: barely able to keep up with nymph in tree form

Wrestling: able to hold himself against Clarisse but only for a few minutes

Canoeing: very good at

Chess: able to beat everyone, even the Athena kids, except for Chiron.

No one was able to make out who he was a child of, Luke suggested he may be a son of Hermes but Ron was sure that was just to give him hope.

Then came his first sword fighting class, Ron was paired with Luke and was struggling to keep up with him "keep your guard up" Luke would say and then wham Ron with the side of his blade "not that up" wham "lunge" wham "now back" wham

Ron was in pieces by the time Luke called for a break. Ron saw as everybody drank water and rested and then noticed Luke pour cold water on his face which seemed like a good idea.

Ron imitated him and was rewarded with an energising feeling. Luke then gathered everyone around and used Ron to give a demonstration of a disarming technique. He demonstrated the move in slow motion and the blade fell off Ron's hand. Luke then started a spar, and surprisingly Ron was able to keep up with him, but Luke had sensed Ron's reflexes and was pressing him with more force as Ron began to grow weaker

"_Now or never" _Ron thought and used the move, putting his body weight to it till 'clang!' the blade fell out of Luke's hands. _"I wonder if that was a good idea" _Ron thought as the whole arena was silent.

The next day, Ron was exited for capture the flag. It started after dinner, where Athena had armed themselves with Hermes and Apollo and Ares with everyone else, but unfortunately for Ron, he was sitting on border patrol.

Ron was stationed by the creek as Annabeth had made him. It was a warm sticky night and Ron was glad he didn't have to run around holding his NBA backboard sized shield.

Once the conch horn blew and the fighting started did Ron wish he was in the middle of things. Suddenly he felt a presence and raised his shield. Ron heard a growl but the silence following it was what made him uneasy.

Suddenly the bush exploded and five Ares kids rushed out "where's the punk?" Clarisse screamed "you told me he'd be on border patrol" Ron thanked his lucky stars that he had decided to use his coat and stay invisible.

Ron slammed the first Ares kid with the flat of his sword, sending him sprawling. "He's invisible" Clarisse shouted "that damn princess gave him her cap" Ron showed great tactical sense by saying "what? What cap?" immediately the Ares kids began attacking in the direction of the voice.

Ron backed off parrying the attacks of the Ares kids and being electrocuted by Clarisse, he was also running out of space to back to until finally Clarisse gave him a very powerful electric jab, wounding him on the arm and sending him splashing into the creek.

Ron struggled to stay afloat with his heavy armour while the Ares kids laughed at him, but falling in the water, Ron felt adrenaline pump through his body, he felt like he could take on a hundred Ares cabin mates.

Clarisse and her posse advanced towards the creek but Ron was ready. He slammed his sword on the helmet of the first minion knocking it off his head and sending him down dizzy from the vibration. Minion's two and three advanced towards Ron who struck the blade against one's armour and sent him down and then kicked another's bent knee making him fall down in pain.

Minion four seemed to hesitate in attacking him and Ron slammed the shield in his face, but Clarisse refused to back down, she kept coming at Ron till he caught her spear between his sword and shield and snapped it like a twig

"AH! Fuck you, you asshole" she shouted but then more screams started to come from the woods as Luke burst forth carrying the banner, flanked by other Hermes and Apollo kids. Luke crossed the boundary line and the flag magically changed to a silver banner with a caduceus.

"a trick" Clarisse growled "it was all a trick"

Ron was about to join in when a voice said "not bad hero" as Annabeth shimmered into existence holding a Yankees cap "where did you learn to fight like that and get that coat?"

"You have your secrets, I have mine" Ron said not wanting to tell her the truth out of spite "you set me up" he accused her

"I was coming to help you but you didn't seem to need it" Annabeth shrugged she then glanced at his hand

Then she noticed his wounded arm. "How did you do that?"

"Sword cut genius" Ron answered sarcastically

"No. It was a sword cut. Look at it"

The blood was gone. Where the huge cut had been, there was a long white scratch, and even that was fading. As I watched, it turned into a small scar, and disappeared.

"I-I don't get it" Ron told her

Annabeth was thinking hard "Step out of the water Ron"

"What?"

"Just do it"

Ron did as told and immediately felt bone tired he almost fell over, but Annabeth steadied him. "Oh, Styx" she cursed. "This is not good. I didn't want ... I assumed it would be Zeus..."

Before Ron could ask what she meant, a howl ripped through the forest.

The campers' cheering died instantly. Chiron shouted in Ancient Greek "Stand ready! My bow!"

Annabeth drew her sword. Standing on the rocks just above them was a black hound the size of a rhino, with lava red eyes and fangs like daggers and it was looking straight at Ron

Nobody moved except Annabeth, who yelled "Run!" the hound leapt into the air as Annabeth rushed forward, but he had already reached Ron and tore through his armour.

There was a cascade of thwacking sounds, like forty pieces of paper being ripped one after the other. From the hound's neck as arrows popped from them. Everything was a blur to Ron but he heard the words 'hellhound' 'summon' and then Annabeth saw the wounds on his chest and pushed him towards the creek.

"I'm fine" Ron insisted to which Annabeth replied "no you're not" and then turned to the centaur "Chiron watch this"

Ron stepped into the creek and instantly felt better, he could practically feel the cuts on his chest closing up and heard the gasping of the campers "okay, what's going on?" Ron asked but realised the campers weren't watching his wounds heal; they were staring at something above his head.

"Ron" Annabeth pointed above his head "um..."

By the time Ron looked up, it was already fading but Ron could make out a green trident.

"Your father" she murmured "this is bad"

"It is determined" Chiron announced as the campers started to bow, even the Ares campers, although grudgingly.

"My father?" Ron was confused beyond belief

"Poseidon" Chiron announced "Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses! Hail Ronald Jackson son of the Sea God"

**AN: I have decided to try something different with this fic. and write down the name of the celebrities on whom I base the characters looks.**

**Ron Jackson: Rupert Grint**

**Grover Underwood: Adam Sevani **

**Chiron: Colin Farrell**

**Annabeth Chase: Annasophia Robb**

**Argus: Ryan Gosling**

**Dionysus: Johnny Depp**

**Hestia: Emma Stone**

**Luke Castellan: Jake Abel**

**Clarisse La Rue: Lindsey Shaw**


	2. Quests, Monsters and Food

Ron was shifted to cabin three the very next day, he had the entire cabin to himself, could do whatever he wanted and was absolutely miserable. He was just finding a place to call home with people to call friends when his father threw him into a new mess.

The other campers avoided him, cabin eleven was too nervous to train with him so Luke gave him one-on-one training, Annabeth still taught him ancient Greek but didn't seem too happy about it. Even Clarisse was keeping her distance from him; Ron was pissed and knew he would snap soon. He needed a way to vent out his frustration.

That way, came with a summon from Mr. D. It was a cold morning with a big storm brewing and Grover led Ron into the big house where Chiron and Mr. D were playing pinochle with two invisible opponents.

"Our little celebrity" Mr. D mocked Ron as he entered "I I had my way I would have spontaneously combusted you or turned you into a dolphin, but Chiron thinks that you deserve a chance"

"Also, you aren't allowed to harm the campers" Chiron pointed out "Nonsense! He wouldn't feel a thing" the wine god then got up from his seat and held out a security pass "boy" he looked at Ron "if you have any sense you'll see my way is much better than his" saying this, he disappeared into thin air.

"sooo! What's your plan?" Ron asked Chiron who smiled. Chiron explained the situation to Ron with the master bolt being stolen and his father and uncle threatening to go to war, and then Ron was made to go to the attic.

The place seemed to have a lot of souvenirs from various quests, but there was also a corpse sitting on a stool.

Ron then heard a rasping, slithering, voice in his head _"__I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask"_

"_No thanks, wrong door, just looking for the bathroom" _Ron screamed mentally but then gathered his courage and asked "what is my destiny?"

A mist seemed to come out of the oracle's mouth and Ron swore he saw the illusion of Nancy Bobfit from it. Nancy spoke in the rasping voice of the oracle

_You shall go west and face the god who has turned_

_You shall find what was stolen and see it safely returned_

_You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend_

_And you shall fail to save what matters the most in the end_

"Thanks for the kind words" Ron muttered as the mist retreated into the oracle again.

**XXXXXXX**

"So basically, I need to go west to face my uncle in LA and get my other uncle's toy before summer solstice" Ron asked for clarification

"Yes" Chiron agreed "although I would ask you not to call the master bolt a toy" the air behind him shimmered for a moment

"And how does she fit into this?" Ron asked gesturing towards the shimmering space where Annabeth appeared "I've been waiting for a quest all my life seaweed brain. Athena is no fan of Poseidon but you'll need my help if you want to survive"

"Sounds like fun!" Ron said sarcastically.

Chiron instructed them to pack up and Ron took a set of clothes, toiletries and his invisibility coat. He had also gotten a pair of flying shoes from Luke but gave them to Grover instead as he couldn't use them.

"I wish I had more time to train you" Chiron said

"It's fine" Ron said but was wishing that he had some sort of weapon to fight should the need arise.

"What am I thinking?" Chiron cried "I can't let you go without this" he handed Ron a ballpoint pen.

"Gee thanks" Ron said making Chiron sigh

"That is a gift from your father" Chiron told Ron "uncap it"

Ron did and the pen turned into a sword. It was a double edged blade with a leather wrapped grip and a flat hilt. It felt perfectly balanced in Ron's hand _"this was the blade Chiron gave me to battle against Mrs. Dodds" _Ron realised

"This sword has a long and tragic history we need not go into" Chiron told Ron "its name is Anaklusmos"

"Riptide" Ron translated surprising himself. Chiron then went on to explain him how celestial bronze wouldn't harm mortals, how Ron wouldn't lose the pen.

Finally the trio boarded the camp van and Argus drove them out of the countryside and into western Long Island. "So far so good" Ron said breaking the silence between him, Annabeth, Grover and Argus.

Annabeth scowled making Ron roll his eyes "why do you hate me?" he asked her

"I don't hate you" Annabeth protested making Ron give her a sceptical look

"Look... we're not supposed to get along, our parents our rivals, one time my mom caught Poseidon and his girlfriend at her temple which is highly insulting, another time, the two competed to be the patron god for Athens. You dad created some stupid saltwater spring and my mom created the olive tree. The people saw her gift was better, so they named the city after her"

"Like you everyday uncle-niece relationship" Ron nodded to which Annabeth answered "oh forget it" in the front seat, Argus was smiling and an eye on his neck winked at him and Ron, behaving maturely, winked back.

He dropped the off at the greyhound station on the Upper East Side, made sure they had their tickets and bags and left.

Ron thought about his parents who had rushed off to Miami. He hadn't been able to contact them and was worried sick about them. "They'll be fine" Grover assured Ron who looked at him like he had grown another head.

"Did you read my mind?"Ron asked angrily if his friend could read minds, it might prove troublesome for Ron to keep secrets. "I read your emotions. Satyrs can do that" Ron nodded trying to keep his emotions under control.

The truth was, he hadn't accepted the mission to clear his father's name, who had simply impregnated his mother and left. He was doing it so that when he met his father, he could punch him in the face, even if Ron died, he would want to punch his father in the face.

The rain was pouring and they were getting restless waiting for the bus, Annabeth started a game of hacky sack but Ron had something else in mind. Ron held out his hand and collected water from the rain in his cupped hand.

"What are you doing?"Annabeth asked suspiciously making Ron grin crazily. Ron focused on the water, willing it to rise from his hand and felt a familiar tug in his gut as the water began to float in the air.

"Ron" Annabeth hissed looking around to see if mortals were there. "The mist is a powerful thing Annabeth" Ron repeated Chiron's words as he shaped the water into a ball, Ron then tried something else, he tried to increase the volume of the water by turning the water vapour in the air into liquid form, he grinned as the water ball, slowly began to grow in size.

"Ron!" Annabeth scowled to which Ron let the water flow back into the rain as vapour. "I'm just trying to learn more about my powers" Ron said peacefully as Annabeth simply scowled.

The greyhound soon arrived but as they stood in line to board, Grover began sniffing around. "What? Ron asked nervously.

"Don't know" Grover answered tensely "it's probably nothing" Ron honestly doubted their luck was good enough for it to be nothing.

They finally boarded the bus and found seats at the back. And only then did Annabeth spot Grover's nothing. "Ron" she hissed gesturing towards the front where three women were sitting who made his heart stop.

Seated in the front was Mrs. Dodds, older, uglier and meaner but definitely her followed by two other in green and purple knit hats to go with Mrs. Dodds orange one.

They sat right behind the driver with the other two furies crossing their legs over the walkway in a casual manner, but the meaning was clear: nobody leaves

"I thought you said they wouldn't reform for a long time" Ron whispered to Annabeth as they pulled out of the station.

"I also said 'if you're luck' you obviously aren't" Annabeth told Ron who cursed his luck

"All three furies" Grover moaned "Di immortales"

"It's okay" Annabeth said thinking hard "the three furies, the worst monsters from the underworld... we'll just slip out of the windows.

"They don't open" Ron pointed out

"A back exit then" there wasn't one and they were running out of time,, heading towards Lincoln tunnel.

"Suddenly Mrs. Dodds got up and announced "I need to use the restroom"

"So do I" said the second sister

"So do I" the third sister repeated.

"I've got it" Annabeth whispered "Ron, use you jacket to go invisible and Grover, take my hat" to which Ron and Grover asked "What?"

"You're the one they want, Ron and Grover you need to help him. Turn invisible and go down the aisle, let them pass you and then you can get to the front and get away"

"We can't leave you" Grover said

"There's an outside chance they might not notice me" Annabeth said "Ron's smell is overpowering and the kindly one will recognize Grover from Yancy. Just go!"

The two boys became invisible and crept down the aisle up to ten rows before ducking into empty seats just as the furies passed them. Ron felt Grover brush past him and move towards the front of the bus.

Suddenly there was a screaming from the back. Ron turned around to see that the three old ladies had transformed into hideous monsters with bat wings, claws for hands and feet and fiery whips.

"Where is it? Where?" Mrs. Dodds screeched as she and her sisters surrounded Annabeth as the other people screamed and cowered.

"He's not here" Annabeth yelled "he's gone" and suddenly the bus jerked as Ron and the three furies hit the windows. _"Brilliant idea Grover" _Ron thought observing his best friend wrestle the steering wheel from the driver as they hit the side of the tunnel.

The bus jerked round as they exited the Lincoln tunnel. Ron went towards the front as they were about to careen into the Hudson River and pulled the emergency brake. The bus careened and hit the trees as the emergency lights went off, and suddenly the bus was empty except for the three furies and the three of them.

The door was open but Ron knew he couldn't leave Annabeth behind Ron unbuttoned his jacket and called out "hey!"

The three furies turned around as Mrs. Dodds walked towards him down the aisle with her two sisters hopping on the seats like huge nasty lizards.

"Ron! Look out" Mrs Dodds lashed her whip towards Ron's hand as Ron lowered his hand to let the whip wrap around the blade. The two other furies suddenly lunged at him but were pushed away by two walking sticks, courtesy of Grover who was now visible.

Annabeth grappled Mrs. Dodds from behind and Grover tried to fend off another fury. Ron attacked the third one with his sword, sending her flailing back as the second one came towards him. Ron swung the sword as the fury exploded into dust.

The third fury screeched and lunged at him but Ron was ready as drove the sword into her as they fury exploded like a piñata.

Mrs. Dodds tried to het Annabeth of her back, she tried to get up but Grover used his crutches to pin her bat wings down.

"Zeus will destroy you!" Mrs. Dodds promised "Hades will have your souls"

"Braccas meas vescimini!" Ron yelled quite certain it meant 'eat my pants'

Suddenly thunder shook the bus, every instinct in Ron's body told him to get away "run!" Annabeth shouted as they jumped out of the bus. Outside the other passengers were wandering around in a daze or arguing with the bus driver.

"Our bags!" Grover realized but it was too late

BOOM!

Lightning hit the bus. The windows exploded, the passengers ran for cover, a huge crater appeared on the roof but Mrs. Dodds yells made it clear she had survived. "she's calling for reinforcements" Annabeth called out

"Well let's not wait for them" Ron said as the three ran forward, into the darkness.

**XXXXXXX**

The three of them trudged across the mushy ground as Annabeth urged them to put more distance between them and the bus and Grover kept muttering about tin cans and kindly ones.

"Practically everything we had was back there" Ron reminded Annabeth who scowled at him

"Well maybe if you hadn't decided to jump in the fight-" Annabeth began but Ron cut her off "we still wouldn't have our stuff and you would've probably died"

"You didn't need to protect me Ron" Annabeth retorted "I would've been fine"

"Sliced like bread" Grover put in "but fine"

"Shut up goat boy" Annabeth retorted

After a few more minutes of sloshing through the muddy ground, Annabeth fell in line with Ron "look I..." her voice faltered "thanks for coming back to save me"

"Don't sweat it" Ron answered "we're a team, right"

"It's just that if you died... aside from it sucking for you, it would mean the quest was over. This is my only chance to see the real world"

"You've been in camp since you were seven?" Ron asked Annabeth recalling it from one of their first conversations.

"Only on field trips" Annabeth grumbled "my father..." "The history professor?" Ron interrupted

"Yes him" Annabeth was rushing her words now "it didn't work out with him. The camp is my home now. I mean you train and train and train, and it's all cool but the real world is where the monsters are, that's where you learn whether you're good or not"

"You're amazing with that knife" Ron told Annabeth who smiled

"You think so?"

"Anyone able to piggyback ride a fury has to be good" Ron pointed out, he wasn't sure due to the darkness of the night but he was pretty sure she was smiling.

"Hey Anne" Ron said

"Don't call me that" Annabeth scowled

"I just wanted to say that if you wanted to see the real world, you just should've gotten out of the camp instead of waiting for the likes of me" Ron said gently

"It's not that simple" Annabeth protested

"You're a hero" Ron retorted "you should be able to make the decision to go out to the real world to help people if you want to. Adults will always try to protect you, it's you who needs to get up and take the risks to win"

They walked in silence, till they began to see neon signs up ahead and take in the wafting smell of grease and junk food. Ron who hadn't eaten junk food since arriving at the camp was ecstatic for a chance to have unhealthy food.

As it turned out, the smell wasn't coming from a fast food restaurant but from some sort of weird roadside curio shop that sold lawn flamingo's wooden Indians and other stuff like that Ron took in the neon sign with his dyslexic eyes and asked "what does it say?"

"Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium" Grover translated for his two dyslexic partners.

Flanking the entrance were the cement statues of two garden gnomes, smiling and waving as if about to get their pictures taken.

Ron crossed the street following the smell of hamburgers.

"The lights are on" Annabeth said "maybe its open"

"Snack bar" Ron murmured wistfully

"Snack bar" Annabeth agreed

"You guys are crazy" Grover told them but they ignored his wise words.

The front yard was filled with statues of all sorts, animals, children, even a satyr playing the pipes which gave Grover the creeps.

"Looks like my uncle Ferdinand" he bleated. They stopped at the door of the warehouse where Grover pleaded "don't knock"

Then the door creaked open, and standing in front of them was a tall Middle Eastern woman-at least, Ron assumed she was Middle Eastern, because she wore a long black gown that covered everything but her hands, and her head was completely veiled. Her eyes glinted behind a curtain of black gauze, but that was about all he could make out.

She spoke with a Mediterranean accent "children, it is late to be out all alone, where are your parents?"

"We're orphans" Annabeth told her and Ron added by creating a tale of them being lost circus artists, separated from their troop.

The warehouse was filled with all kinds of statues, people with different outfits and different expression, but Ron didn't notice anything in his quest for food. He didn't notice Grover's nervous whimpers, the way the eyes of the statue followed them or even the fact that aunty Em had locked the door behind them.

Ron's mouth watered when he set his eyes on the fast food counter, with a grill, soda fountain and even a pretzel heater "Sit down children" aunty Em gestured towards the steel picnic tables situated in the warehouse.

"Um, we don't have any money" Grover said reluctantly informed aunty Em, Ron gave him the evil eye and was about to pull out the debit card his mum had give for emergencies (he was pretty sure this qualified as one) when aunty Em said "No no children, no money. This is special case yes? It is my treat, for such nice orphans"

"Thank you ma'am" Annabeth said making aunty Em stiffen for a moment before relaxing "quite alright Annabeth" aunty Em said "you have such beautiful gray eyes, child" aunty Em then disappeared behind the counter to get food for them.

An before Ron knew it, their hostess had placed plastic trays in front of them, heaped with double cheeseburgers, XXL servings of French fries and jumbo soda cups.

Ron practically inhaled his first two burgers, Annabeth was slurping her soda and Grover was eating the fries while eyeing the wax paper as if he might go for that but looking too nervous to eat.

"What's that hissing noise?" Grover asked aunty Em

"Perhaps you hear the deep fryer oil" aunty Em told Grover "you have keen ears child"

"I take vitamins for my ears" Grover told her as he continued with the fries.

Aunty Em herself ate nothing, choosing to observe the three kids as they ate their fill, so Ron decided to make small talk to their host.

"So you make statues?" Ron tried to sound interested

"Oh yes" aunty Em replied "anything for the garden, custom orders, statuary is very popular you know?" Ron looked around and noticed the statue of a girl with an Easter basket. The statue was with incredible detail, they looked amazing, except its face which looked terrified.

"Ah" aunty Em said sadly "you'll notice some of my creations do not turn out well. The face is the hardest to get"

Ron delved deeper into the conversation as aunty Em told them how she had two sisters who had passed away and some tragic story about an evil woman separating her and her boyfriend. Ron was sleepy by this time due to his full stomach and Annabeth had to shake him to get his attention.

"Ron! We need to get going now; the ringmaster is waiting for us" Annabeth told him

"Such beautiful eyes" aunty Em told Annabeth again "it's been a while since I've seen such gray eyes"

She reached forward to touch Annabeth who abruptly stood up "we need to leave" Annabeth told her "yes" Grover agreed chewing on the wax paper and dragging Ron to his feet "we need to leave"

"Of course children" aunty Em agreed "but could you pose for a picture? For one of my statues" Ron noticed Annabeth pale and got the distinct feeling that there was something he didn't know

They were in the front garden with the statues when aunty Em again said "please just one photo" aunty Em said, Ron looked at Annabeth who seemed wary and then at Grover who was examining the satyr statue "that sure does look like uncle Ferdinand" Grover remarked.

"Just one photo" aunty Em pleaded

"Where's your camera?" Annabeth asked but aunty Em ignored her

"Now a big large smile please" she still didn't have a camera in her hands

"Ron something is wrong" Annabeth whispered

"Now a large nice smile" aunty Em said

"That is Uncle Ferdinand" Grover gasped

Aunty Em was about to remove her veil when Annabeth shouted "NO!" she put on her invisibility cap and vanished, her invisible hands pushing Ron and Grover away.

Ron stared at aunty Em's sandaled feet as he heard Grover and Annabeth scramble in opposite directions. Ron's eyes rose to aunty Em's hands which had become talons.

"Run!" Grover bleated and then yelled "Maia" kick-starting the flying sneakers, but Ron was having trouble moving due to the trance the old lady had put him in.

"Such a pretty face" she told Ron soothingly "stay with me Ron Jackson all you have to do is look up" Ron glanced to the side and saw a gazing ball showing the reflection of a woman with snaked for hair

Aunty Em

Aunty M

"_Shit" _Ron swore silently _"how could I have been so stupid" _Ron racked his brains to remember who and how medusa had been defeated, but couldn't come up with anything.

"The gray eyed one did this to me" medusa purred "Athena; she cursed me to this form, that I why I need to destroy Annabeth. But you can live with me; you don't have to become a pawn of the Olympians"

"Ron" Grover yelled "duck" Ron then saw Grover flying towards them with his eyes closed, wielding a metal baseball bat

Ron ducked to one side as he heard Grover slam the bat into medusa, and cheered silently "Ron" Annabeth appeared by his side "you have to cut her head off"

"How am I supposed to do that without looking at her?" Ron asked her to which Annabeth handed him a gazing ball

"Use this" Annabeth instructed "don't gaze at her directly", they then heard Grover hit one of the statues. Ron took a deep breath and stepped out of his hiding place, holding the gazing ball in front of him, Ron approached medusa.

Ron slowly walked towards the monster woman, who let him approach her. Ron knew she could kill him easily with him having to hold the orb in front of him but she didn't, do anything...yet.

"You wouldn't harm an old woman Ron" she crooned and Ron felt the effects of her words, his arms felt weak,

"Don't listen to her" Grover groaned from the floor

"Too late" medusa crackled and lunged at him, Ron slashed the sword instinctively and it connected, there was a hiss like the wind rushing from a cavern- the sound of a monster disintegrating.

"Don't look down" Annabeth instructed Ron, she went inside the store and found a few plastic groceries bags and wrapped Medusa's head in them.

"What now?" Grover asked and Ron had an idea "I'll be back" Ron said and disappeared into the store. He returned with twenty dollars, a few drachmas and some packing slips for Hermes Overnight Express. Ron also got the address of the entrance to the underworld. A place called DOA studios.

Ron returned to the picnic table and tied one of the packing slips to the head. "what are you doing?" Grover asked but Ron ignored him as he filled out the form.

The Gods

Mount Olympus

600th floor

Empire State Building

New York, NY

With best wishes

RON JACKSON

"They're not going to like that" Grover pointed out "they're going to think you're impertinent"

Ron put some drachma's in the pouch and the package disappeared with a pop after giving the sound of a cash register

Ron smirked "I am impertinent" he then looked at Annabeth and said "we need a new plan"

**Ron Jackson: Rupert Grint**

**Grover Underwood: Adam Sevani **

**Chiron: Colin Farrell**

**Annabeth Chase: Annasophia Robb**

**Argus: Ryan Gosling**

**Dionysus: Johnny Depp**

**Hestia: Emma Stone**

**Luke Castellan: Jake Abel**

**Clarisse La Rue: Lindsey Shaw**

**Furies: Maria Olsen**

**Medusa: Uma Thurman**


End file.
